Wilting
by Lostcause13
Summary: Shizuru knows Retio Kanzaki is guilty for the worst of crimes. Natsuki's clueless and scared of her past but is the key to convicting him. Can a workaholic lawyer and a sacastic teenager really bust a crime lord?


**This is my first story. I do not own My Otome/Hime, never had, never will. …Here goes!**

_Wilting: Chapter 1. "Welcome to the real world"_

"The court here by finds Lee Kohana of Kohana industries guilty." The gavel hit the block and hand cuffs found their way around a wealthy CEO's wrist. Shizuru Viola smiled.

A hand slapped the young lawyers back. "A life sentence, you're on fire this week!" The redhead snatched her suite case and jogged pass Shizuru to the door. "Everyone's meeting at Fuuka Point, We'll see you there?"

"I don't know. I have to meet with Mr. Wang about an investigation site. I'll try."

Mai flashed an evil smirk. "I understand. Mr. Wang is waiting, Zuru-chan." Shizuru's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I'm just kidding! But please try. You always work, have some fun!"

The attorney at large sighed. Even with the case close to closed there was still a lot of evidence that needed to be recorded for files and she hardly had the time. "This better be good Sergay."

~zzzzz~

Staring forward at the gold plated elevator door, the lawyer heard little of what the police officer had to say. "…be careful though, it's like a cave down here. " The elevator doors dinged open.

Shizuru laughed softly."More like a labyrinth." The white hallway before them branched off into several smaller corridors, all just as fashionable as the next.

Chief Wang chuckled himself. "I guess 'cave' isn't exactly the word I was looking for." He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and continued to lead the attorney down the bright hallway. "Anyways…it seems Kanzaki used this labyrinth to conduct illegal trading, in some rooms we found remains of… missing people. But…"

Shizuru tuned out again, staring at a work site as investigators tried to crack open a giant safe. "It seems everyone is intrigued by that door." Walking pass the brunette, Sergay observed a monitor. "We were finally able to drill a path to the other side, allowing us to get a static-y video feed."

"Ara, is that so?" Brushing the wrinkles from her black blouse, Shizuru joined him at the T.V. "Then what lies behind such a big door?" She noticed his blush and distanced their proximity. _'One bad date later.'_

"Well, it looks like Takeda actually managed to crack this safe so I guess we'll be seeing in a couple of seconds." They heard a mumbled complaint and then a deep rumble come from behind the door.

"Take cover, this thing is loaded!" Leave it to Takeda to set off a bomb. After working with this prescient for five years though, Shizuru had come to expect these things.

With half the door blown away in Retio's last attempt to hide its occupant, the officers began clearing debrief away. "How often does this happen?" Shizuru pondered.

Sergay unsheathed his gun and led a small group towards the opening. "Often enough."

Shizuru trailed them to the opening, strapping the bullet-proof vest over her shirt. A radio crackled to life.

"Lieutenant Nagi, request a paramedic, repeat request a paramedic!" The boyish goon swiped the device and pulled out a cell.

"Copy that, chief!"

~zzzzz ~

Waking up in a cold, unfamiliar room isn't something a person likes doing, matters worse when you've never seen another room besides the cozy, single room apartment that seems to…not be here anymore. The beeping wasn't helping much either.

"…to bad. Just a light fracture in the leg, a few scrapes and bruises." The confused patient's eyes widened in pain, the stale air and hammering noise finally taking effect. "We ran some blood test. Things look promising. You know her name, Ms. Viola?"

More pain swelled in the bomb victim's head until the door slid open, then close. "My, my, you're awake now." Numb, every irritation simply evaporated as the Kyoto accent floated through the air. "Mind telling me your name?" The intense red eyes bore into the frightened forest green ones, halting any form of communication.

"Me?"

The Kyoto native raised a confused eyebrow. "Yes you, see anyone else here?"

"Uh…am…he called me…Kruger." The young girls face scrunched with frustration. "Natsuki! My name, right?" The lawyer sighed, pushing hand against her forehead.

"If you say so." Shizuru held back a frustrated growl. "Anything else, Kruger-san." The girl in front of her scrunched her face again.

"And someone named Kan-Za-ki-Sama. Do you know him?" As the words left Natsuki's mouth, Shizuru held her pen ready.

"Reito is a…friend of mine." The teen's eyes suddenly lost life, causing the red eyed woman to bite her tongue. "Someone!"

Before she could beckon the doctors though, a bandaged hand squeezed the lawyers arm still. "Not people! People are loud! People… scary." The younger girl shook her head, allowing her dark, navy tresses to fall over her face. "People, always wilt." She cried softly, hiding her face. Slowly, the brunette crouched to a kneel, looking Natsuki in the eye for a moment.

"Calm down." Shizuru slid into the bedside chair, giving Natsuki enough time to recuperate. "So, how old are you?"

Wrapping her fist deep within the blanket, Natsuki inhaled deeply. "…Mikoto said I was 17."

Unfolding her legs, Shizuru interrupted. "Gosh, see, crying is no good. It's nice to meet you, Natsuki-san. My name is Shizuru Viola." Cue head ache. Natsuki felt a chill race up her spine. "I will be your lawyer. You will testify against Retio Kanzaki for capital crimes against the district of Tokyo."

The now-witness blinked. "What's your age?" It occurred to the attorney that Natsuki most likely has a very short attention span.

"I am." Shizuru sighed. "19."

"Yeah, sure." Natsuki stared sarcastically at the older woman, still puffy eyed.

"Ara, ok, you caught me. 22, you happy?"

The only response the 22-year old got was the ruffling of sheets. "…Happy to go to sleep." The brunette spaced out a second, wondering why that tone sounded so familiar.

"Ara, sleep?" _This conversation is all over the place…_ Still gazing at the blanket covered back, Shizuru sighed, expecting no response.

"Crazy lawyer lady." Natsuki cooed in a sleep induced voice.

Instead of insulting her, the lawyer lady stood up and walked to the door, pausing before the handle. "Kind of like Haruka-chan." Her facial features dropped to a frown. "Not another one…"

_~Four months, two weeks, and three days later~_

The strange feeling of leather underneath Natsuki's body caused her to squirm in place. "Hey, Shrink-san, my leg isn't wrapped up in that stuff anymore, do you think I could leave?"

The shrink smirked. "Try saying the magic words." An icy aura radiated from the teen.

"Go jump off a cliff." Pools of green collided with a blue glare.

"I don't see what's wrong. You gave me those weird thinking papers and I passed em!" Fed up with the sticky fabric, Project Kruger slumped to the carpet's safety.

The pencil gripped in Youko's fist finally snapped with her anger. "Listen, Natsuki-Chan! We've been going at this for three months. Yes, your recovery is remarkable, but your memory is still too unstable for normal living beings to comprehend! You have the attention span of a fruit fly!" The scholar huffed and swiftly composed herself. "Until you retain some manners, your memories, and at least suitable fashion sense, you cannot leave the dormitories."

Natsuki lay back under the couch, concentrating on the wood holding the structure up. "I told you already. I just want to be alone. It smells in this place, I can never hear myself think, and you employ people to examine unmentionable areas of the female body." The young beauty rolled on her side and sighed. "And what's wrong with how I dress?" Not an inch of progress in four weeks.

Youko puffed and looked the hidden girl over. A grey long-sleeved shirt, thick, black ski mittens, a short pair of tie-die jogging shorts, and to top it all off, a pair of puke green tube socks stretching to her mid thigh. Perfect for summer. "You serious, Na-Chan?" Underneath their constant bickering, the adult had really grown attached. She tossed her note pad to the side and got on all fours, in a last, desperate, attempt to break through to the patient.

As if time slowed in Natsuki's eyes, the blue-headed girl scurried through the other side of the couch, narrowly avoiding Youko's touch. She began screaming.

"Don't touch me! Please, you can't!" Dark clouds crept into her dizzy vision, sharing horrible images of decayed bodies in quick flashes. Imaginary blood stained her body and she clawed at her porcelain skin, causing Youko to advance.

"No one in the white room would talk to me. Some tried to get me out…some tried to kill me." Natsuki's voice grew course and foreign. "But they can't kill me. I can't die because everyone I touch wilts." Youko herself started screaming, pleading her to come back.

"I'm a monster."

The pressure of two arms wrapped around her cleared the storm within her mind. "What happened?" The contact, at last, became apparent. "What are you doing?"

Separated by the protective layer of clothes, Youko croaked. "Hugging you, stupid.

'_That obviously explains the lack of skin, but what tragic thing would cause a person to hate contact so much. Kanzaki locking her up in that room for so long didn't help the situation.'_ Reality slapped Youko in the face. This case is far more twisted then anyone thought. '_And it seems you're the answer, Natsuki._

**Note: I had a little trouble writing Natsuki in the hospital. Her personality kind of changes from her 'interview' with Shizuru to when she's in therapy. I wanted her to develop between the scenes. Sorry about mistakes and please review! **


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